Pea Sprouts, Tomato Paste into Sauce, Mexican Rice, Fearless Chocolate GIVEAWAY!

In order to comprehend things - I often have to do them MYSELF.  People can 'tell' me how to do something but if I don't actually do it myself I won't usually comprehend the information.  This goes for most things in life for me but many of which you will see here on my site are food related or "earthy".  I do like sprouting and the more I do it the more I enjoy it!  I just finished up sprouting a small amount of Pea Sprouts!  The last time around I was less than impressed with the outcome.  But THIS TIME I was super excited!  Look at these BABIES!  Aren't they awesome!?  I used the Green Sprouting Kit from Sustainable Santa Cruz once again!  I do LOVE this kit!  As of last night I started soaking a little bit of their Spicy Blend.  The Sprouting seeds were among the smallest I have ever tried sprouting so I am very eager to see how they progress!

Last night I made Mexican Rice for (Vegan) Mexican Foods Week here on MyBlissfulJourney.com and I really thought I had Tomato Sauce but I was mistaking!  So I had to make my own!  Here is what I did:

1 6-ounce can of Tomato Paste
1 and a half cans of water
1 tea of Wholesome Sweeteners Raw Cane Sugar

It turned out wonderful!  I was so happy!

So...with that...I used the following to make my Mexican Rice!

8 ounces of the Tomato Sauce (mentioned above)
2 T Grapeseed Oil
2/3 C White Rice
1/4 of an Onion
2 tea Minced Garlic
1 C Water
2 tea Wildtree Veggie Bouillon
1/2 C Corn with Green Chili's (or any mixed veggies)

This turned out SO YUMMY!  I was VERY pleased with this!  It was quick, easy, flavorful, fun, and I would totally make it again...just next time...I would make more of it!

As far as physical things are concerned I have found I must now wear my sneakers with my insoles at all times.  For about a month - in the evenings - I would switch to Crocs with 'less expensive' inserts but I don't think I can do that anymore.  I think I have to wear my sneakers with my Dr. Scholls Custom Fits at all times.  I was told because of my High Arches and High Pressure to NOT walk around barefoot anymore so I haven't been.  On the upside - my eyes are looking BLUER and I've been told that I look like I have lost more weight even tho I don't think I have.  We are looking at changing cars and I had to hand over my drivers license and noticed how hubby my face was in the photo.  It's nice to know that I can even notice that change.  I did have a quick break-out last week but that is done and over with so that is good.  My digestion is still wonderful and I couldn't be more happy about that (my digestion issues, that is).

To celebrate this wonderful Thursday I want to go another giveaway!  But first I want to tell you about the product!  It's from Fearless Chocolate and it's their 70% Cacao Super Seeds Crunch.

You might remember my last review and giveaway from Fearless Chocolate!

I LOVE that FEARLESS CHOCOLATE bars are shaped with a "bite" representing the portion of our proceeds that they donate to Champion ChangeMakers suggested by their customers!

As for their Super Seeds Crunch option in their product line - I found it to be quite impressive!  It tasted like dark chocolate with a hint of cherry, perhaps!  I absolutely LOVE the 'crackle and crunch' the seeds provide in this!  There is also a "barely-there' salt flavor from the sunflower seeds that I think is neat, too!  The Flax, Chia, and Hemp Combo gives you that powerhouse round house kick to get you thru a busy after noon!  It's a pretty marvelous product!

Do you want to WIN one of these?  Here's what you do to qualify (US Mailing addresses only)

* Follow My Blog
* Leave Me a Comment

* Follow Fearless Chocolate on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BeingFearless

* Like Fearless Chocolate on Facebook  www.facebook.com/FearlessChocolate

* And Follow then on Instagram @FearlessChocolate

 

I will choose 1 lucky winner on MONDAY!!!

 

Convenience Foods with a Twist, Product Reviews, Happenings

I left the last couple of days without a new post so I have a lot to catch up on today!  I have been cheating with some convenience foods lately but have been trying my best to increase the nutritional value of the foods even if they are convenience foods.  For example...I found store-bought vegetarian Stir Fry.  It was oddly low in sodium for a stirfry as well as a store bought item it was gently flavored but lacked a good a mount of veggies.  So I added a little bit of Coconut Aminos (which I will be doing a review for soon!) and added a few more veggies to it!  It turned out pretty well!  The 3 reasons I am posting about these couple of 'convenience' foods is ONE - the produce - for the most part - in my area is LACKING.  I can find it but the quality is not very good.  TWO - time!  I hate to use that as an excuse but between the ice storms, our work schedule, and medical issues between my husband and now my father - it's been a little crazy lately!  THREE - I have been starting to coupon a little bit - nothing extreme - but - the coupons I have been finding are for things I enjoy and/or haven't tried before and am getting good deals on them - PLUS - my VitaCost and VeganEssentials orders came in over the past week!

Speaking of VitaCost...here is a photo of my order!  I removed some of the packaging, tho.  There are some other items in there that were not necessarily part of my order but I received in the mail and will be blogging about them soon!  I'm VERY excited about it!

I ended up getting $10 off my VitaCost Order AND got FREE SHIPPING!  As far as the coupons go - I saves $21 this past weekend and the weekend before saved about $20.  I wasn't able to find everything I had coupons for either and I need to use them before the end of the month! 

One of the MANY things I got in my VitaCost Shipping was a different new-to-me kind of Kale Chips!  They were tasty but the crumbed quite a bit.  The flavor was Sweet Mustard.  I am going to do this flavor at home myself once I find some good Kale!

Speaking of crumbled Kale Chips...here is what I did with them!  I got Pacific Foods Cashew Carrot Ginger Soup for a good price so I had this for lunch yesterday.  I sprinkled a generous amount of Kale Chips/Crumbs on top!  I LOVE these two colors together!  It added nicely to the overall flavor, too!  Actually I ended up getting two Kale Chips, now that I think of it!  The ones I used on the soup were from Rhythm SuperFoods and were Zesty Nacho Flavored!

Just another convenience food with a little more added nutrition!

 I need to use an open bag of Daiya "Cheese" so one evening over the weekend I made these snack bagels.  I know that Daiya Cheese does contain added oils but I had not been using as much Grapeseed Oil in the foods I have been making the past week or so.  I wanted to increase this comfort and convenience food with a bit more nutritional value so I squirted a little bit of FoodsAlive Flax Oil SuperDressings on it - you can see the little bit of orange color under the 'cheese'.  They were really tasty!  I have to admit!

I asked my husband to pick this week's country for my Foods Around The World.  He picked Mexico!  I LOVES it when I make Tacos!  He's not a vegetarian - far from it - so he had his and I had mine!  This is a photo of mine!  I had Organic No Fat Vegetarian Refried Beans, a small amount of Avocado, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, a very little bit of Daiya Cheese, and a little bit of Hot Sauce. 

For Breakfast I had this Mom's Best Organic Cinnamon Plum Oatmeal.  I just added water and a small teaspoon size packet of Wholesome Sweeteners Blue Agave.  I plan on doing some reviews for these products down the road, too!

Speaking of Cinnamon...recently I tried the Apple Cinnamon Bar from Raw Revolution.  It was fantastic! 

At first bite it was like eating dehydrated Apple Chips and Cinnamon!  Then the textures came in to play!  The powders and seeds contribute to the texture as well as the hardiness and chewiness!  Both the flavor and the texture were satisfying!  As I continued to munch on this bar of delight it continued to be sweet - super sweet - but in a good way!  Apple, Cinnamon, Seeds, and Grainy-goodness from the powders - all played a part!

Here is what's inside of it!

Organic Dates, Organic Dried Apples, Organic Sunflower Seed Kernels, Organic Cinnamon, Organic Hemp Protein, Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Sprouted Flax Seed Powder, Organic Wheat Grass Powder, Organic Spirulina Powder, Organic Spinach Powder, Organic Oat Grass Powder, Organic Kale Powder, Organic Broccoli Powder, Organic Barley Grass Powder, Organic Broken Cell Wall Chlorella Powder.
Nutrition Facts Serv. Size: 1 Bar 1.6 oz. (46g) Amount Per Serving: Calories 150. Fat Cal. 45. Total Fat 5g (8%DV), Sat. Fat 0.5g (3%DV), Trans Fat 0g, Cholest. 0mg (0%DV), Sodium 0 mg (0%DV), Total carb. 27g (9%DV), Fiber 6g (23%DV), Sugars 20g. Protein 3g, Vitamin A (6%DV), Vitamin C (8%DV), Calcium (4%DV), Iron (10%DV). Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

 Have you found any new-to-you products lately that have interested you!?  Share in comments!